Updates: Tsunami waves hit Russia, US, Japan after magnitude 8.8 quake

Thank you for joining our live coverage of the massive earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Russia and the subsequent tsunami alerts.

You can read all about today’s developments spanning multiple regions in our up-to-date news story here.

And you can also check our comprehensive explainer here.

We’ll be closing this live page soon, so let’s bring you up to speed with today’s main developments:

• A magnitude 8.8 earthquake, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded, struck off Russia’s Far East region in the early hours of Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into a number of countries.
• There have been no deaths, though there were some minor injuries. No major damage has been reported so far.
• Millions of people in several countries were told to evacuate from coastal and low-lying areas.
• The worst seems to have passed for many areas, including in Russia, Japan and the US.
• However, new warnings have been issued along South America’s Pacific Coast, forcing evacuations in Chile and Colombia.

• Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world.
• Dubbed the “land of fire and ice”, it has about 300 volcanoes, with 29 of them still active, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.
• Earthquakes and tsunamis regularly strike the 1,200-km (750-mile)-long peninsula that lies close to an ocean trench where two tectonic plates meet.
• Kamchatka and a few nearby islands have a population of about 290,000 with about 162,000 of them living in the regional capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Avacha Bay on the peninsula’s southeast.
• There are few roads on the peninsula, with helicopters being the only way to reach most areas.
• The primary economic activity is fishing
• A major base for Russian nuclear submarines is located in Avacha Bay.
  

  

A team of medics was in the middle of surgery in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s Far East when the powerful tremor struck.

CCTV footage released by the Kamchatka region’s Health Ministry showed them using their hands to try to steady both the patient and their equipment.

“Despite the danger, the doctors remained calm and stayed with the patient until the very end,” Health Minister Oleg Melnikov wrote on Telegram. He gave no details of the surgery but added that the patient was out of danger.

Elsewhere on the Kamchatka Peninsula, video showed startled sea lions diving into the sea as the quake hit Antsiferov Island, just off the coast.

The island is known as a natural habitat for Steller sea lions, a species classified as near threatened.

As we’ve been reporting, authorities in Colombia have announced a number of measures, including:

• The closure of beaches and low-tide areas along the Pacific coast
• Evacuations from these areas
• Restrictions on maritime traffic

French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a statement on social media, saying all government services are mobilised to protect people in French Polynesia as tsunami waves are approaching.

“My full support to the Marquesans and all our compatriots in the Pacific,” Macron said in reference to the residents of the Marquesas Islands, a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia.

We have some comments from Kristi Noem, the US secretary of homeland security, who says the threat of a major tsunami hitting the US “has passed completely”.

“We’re in really good shape right now. We were fully deployed and ready to respond if necessary but grateful that we didn’t have to deal with the situation that this could have been,” Noem told reporters on a visit to the Chilean capital, Santiago.

Authorities in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands have ordered the precautionary evacuation of people living in vulnerable coastal areas.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the islands are located about 970km (600 miles) off South America’s western coast. They consist of 13 major islands, six smaller islands and dozens of islets and rocks.

Officials said people living in the coastal areas should make their way to safe zones established by Ecuador’s emergency management agency.

Peru’s disaster agency says that 65 ports along the country’s coastline have been closed.

The announcement comes after authorities warned that waves could reach as high as 2.31 metres (7.6 feet).

🚨 65 puertos de todo el litoral se encuentran cerrados, según la @MGP_DICAPI, tras la alerta de tsunami emitida por @DHN_peru. pic.twitter.com/XyXb6XWPDz

— COEN – INDECI (@COENPeru) July 30, 2025

As we’ve reported, Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East lie on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is frequently hit by earthquakes and sometimes by accompanying tsunamis.

Today’s 8.8-magniture quake was shallow, at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles), and centred 119km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000.

“However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high … as one might expect from such a magnitude,” said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service.

“Aftershocks are currently ongoing … Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future.”

It has been a busy day with multiple tsunami alerts and evacuation orders across different countries, as well as a volcano eruption.

Here are some of the most important developments in recent hours:

• There have been no deaths and reports of serious injuries following an 8.8-magniture quake off the Russian coast that sent tsunami waves to a number of Pacific countries.
• Authorities in Russia, Japan and the United States have revised initial tsunami warnings to lower-lever advisories.
• The Klyuchevskoy volcano, in Russia’s remote Kamchatka region, has started erupting following the massive earthquake.
• Chile’s disaster agency has declared a tsunami red alert for coastal municipalities while in Peru, authorities are warning that waves could reach as high as 2.31 metres (7.6 feet)
• The United Nations nuclear watchdog says initial reports indicate no safety impact for nuclear power plants along the Pacific coast.

Officials in the US state of California have warned people to stay away from beaches and waterways in Crescent City.

The US National Weather Service’s Eureka office reported tsunami waves with a maximum height of 1.1 metres (3.6ft) in Crescent City – enough to create minor coastal flooding and inundations.

The city has observed dozens of tsunamis since the 1930s, including one in 1964 that began with a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Alaska. Eleven people were killed and hundreds of buildings destroyed in Crescent City alone in what is considered to be the worst tsunami disaster recorded in the US.

The city centre was mostly rebuilt, and today a walking tour highlights high-water marks posted on surviving buildings, objects pushed by waves and memorials to those who died.

Tsunami waves have started reaching the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, but they were forecast to be smaller than initial predictions, according to local authorities.

The High Commission of the Republic in French Polynesia said the highest wave heights have yet to arrive, but they are now expected to reach 1.1-2.5 metres (3.6-8.2 feet), down from a previous forecast of up to 4 metres (13 feet).

Some initial wave surges were reported on the island of Nuku Hiva, it said, adding that between five and 10 additional ocean waves are expected in the coming hours.

Residents on the islands have been urged to go to safe zones, either at higher elevations or far offshore, and stay there until the official alert is lifted.

Elsewhere in French Polynesia, wave heights are expected to remain below 30cm (12 inches), not requiring evacuation or sheltering. However, caution is advised, and residents are urged to stay away from shorelines and river mouths.

“Our armed forces in French Polynesia are on alert as a precautionary measure, to be ready to assist our fellow citizens and state services in potential search and rescue operations or medical evacuations,” French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a social media post.

Marine and air traffic tracking groups have recorded widespread disruption due to the earthquake in Russia and the following tsunami alerts.

• FlightAware found than more than 470 flights were cancelled or delayed, with significant disruption at several US and Japanese airports.
• Data from MarineTraffic showed 91 vessels – including fishing boats, yachts and coast guard ships – had evacuated Honolulu Harbor in Hawaii as a precautionary measure.

As we just reported, the Klyuchevskoy volcano has started erupting after today’s powerful earthquake.

Here are some things to know about it:

• The volcano is located in the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia’s Far East region, off the coast of which the magnitude 8.8 earthquake took place earlier this morning.
• It is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, rising to a height of 4,750 metres (15,584 feet).
• On its lower slopes, it has some 70 lateral craters and cones in addition to its central crater.
• Since 1700, it has erupted more than 50 times.
  

  

Waves along the Peruvian coast could reach as high as 2.31 metres (7.5 feet) following the tsunami alert after the quake earlier this morning, according to the country’s national emergency centre.